Campbell's can't duck claims of toxic metal in baby food

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — A group of baby food manufacturers now won’t have to face a lawsuit claiming they knowingly sold baby food products containing toxic heavy metals that caused brain damage in children.

In a Oct. 1 order made public Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley granted motions to dismiss from baby food manufacturers Danone North America, Sun-Maid Growers of California and two of Nestlé’s international subsidiaries.

However, the Joe Biden appointee refused to dismiss claims against The Campbell’s Company, finding that an amended complaint adds new claims that the company exceeded “the accepted norms of parental oversight of a subsidiary.” Campbell was the parent company of Plum until May 3, 2021, when it sold the snack brand to Sun-Maid.

“These factual allegations support a plausible inference that Campbell employees were directly involved in the alleged tortious conduct; namely, they set limits for toxic heavy metals, were involved in the decisions of when to test Plum products, and dictated ingredient sourcing,” Corley wrote in the 25-page ruling.

She added: “Campbell has not established—as a matter of law—this level of nuanced involvement in the manufacture of Plum baby food falls within the scope of ordinary parent activity.”

The the multi-district class action against baby food manufacturers began in April 2024, when it was fashioned from 10 pending lawsuits with similar claims and central questions. The plaintiffs, all children with brain injuries or neurodevelopmental harm, claim their conditions are a result of the metal-contaminated baby foods sold by the defendant companies.

“These lawsuits aim to stop defendants from poisoning infants with contaminated baby food. Baby food should be safe. It should not be contaminated with toxic heavy metals. Period,” the plaintiffs say in their lawsuit.

Corley also granted another defendant, Nestlé USA’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, finding that the plaintiffs did not have evidence that the company “expressly aimed” any conduct at any relevant states in the lawsuit, including California, Connecticut, and Florida.

She further said that the plaintiffs’ evidence suggests that the company participated in ingredient sourcing decisions, but they do not link that conduct to any of the relevant states.

“Plaintiffs do not allege — nor provide any evidence — that Nestlé USA had contact with consumers of Gerber baby food, sold any Gerber baby food in the relevant states, marketed or advertised Gerber baby food to consumers, or engaged in any ‘individualized targeting’ of consumers,” Corley said.

However, Nestle USA remains part of the suit, for now — Corley said she would take the company’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under submission and will issue a separate ruling.

As for Danone North America and Sun-Maid Growers of California, the judge said the plaintiffs did not provide enough evidence to support their claims against the companies and granted their failure to state a claim motions.

The plaintiffs previously argued that Sun-Maid was liable because they had meetings with Campbell’s about the “day-to-day” running of Plum before taking over ownership of the brand.

“The existence of ‘daily calls’ between Campbell and Sun-Maid during the transition of ownership says nothing about the specific tortious conduct alleged,” Corley said. “Plaintiffs do not allege those calls involved heavy metal testing limits, sourcing of ingredients for Plum products, or heavy metal testing protocols.”

Corley additionally dismissed the claims against the foreign defendants because they were not properly served. However, unlike the other companies, she gave the plaintiffs leave to amend the claims against the foreign defendants.

Attorneys for the baby food manufacturers did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did attorneys for the plaintiffs.

Additional baby food manufacturers and sellers involved in the lawsuit include Whole Foods, the Beech-Nut Nutrition Company, Hain Celestial Group, Walmart, Neptune Wellness Solutions and Sprout Foods.

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